The Member Spotlight page highlights some of our talented bead artist members.
Member Spotlight - Julie Fletcher
edited by Suzanne Steffenson
The old building, no more than a solid, dull block nestled in the technicolor landscape of the European mountains, becomes a hunting ground for Julie Fletcher. In the middle of a dusty interior, damp and gray from lack of light, her delicate handful of torn cup chain and other small bits becomes part of her sizable inventory of found objects. These objects find themselves incorporated into whimsical pieces, some of which are entered into competitions, like the Minnesota State Fair.
Competition is a misnomer for Julie, as she uses her efforts not necessarily to promote herself, but to bring attention to the Upper Midwest Bead Society (UMBS). Beaders in the Minneapolis area seldom have opportunities to display their work, so competitive venues, like the fair, become a resource to increase the UMBS public profile.
If there is an underlying theme to Julie’s work, it is playfulness and humor. She especially loves designing around Halloween -- always fun and not-quite-scary. Julie’s characters, as she refers to them, are driven by found objects, which are then brought together in the form of 3D sculptures using glue and bead embroidery and bead weaving techniques. Sometimes she uses modeling epoxy over a base to build the core of a prizewinning piece like Madame Eggweena (shown), or she will use a found object, like the unfinished head of Lord Duckington (shown), another prizewinner. She then applies beads and other found objects to embellish.
Like most of us, Julie did other forms of crafting before beading. She visited the Creative Activities building at the State Fair and was taken with the various forms of needle art – macrame, needlepoint and embroidery. The Edina Art Fair, with a side trip to the now-defunct Bead Monkey store, led her to a flyer from UMBS. From then on, beading became a focus of her work.
Joining UMBS provided Julie with various gatherings -- retreats and classes -- to learn about different types of beading. As Julie says, as we “age” into beading, we have the tendency to focus on a particular type of beading, such as bead embroidery or bead weaving. Participating in UMBS activities and informal beading groups enables participants to see what others are doing and to discuss ideas and materials. Exposure to different types of beading can become bridges, like Julie’s work, to combining different elements in new and interesting ways.
For some odd reason, beading, no matter what its form, provides a common means to enjoy each other. Oftentimes, Julie receives “gifts” from her many friends in the form of taxidermy eyes and the underlying form for Lord Duckington. Found objects provide most inspiration for Julie’s work, especially those in egg-shape form. Why egg forms? All the easier to attach cabochons, of course! And for those of us who have contributed to Julie’s treasures, nothing is better than seeing one of our offerings incorporated into her work.
Julie balances working on her original beaded projects with projects/patterns from other designers like Laura McCabe, like her “Shut Your Trap” venus fly trap necklace, and bead weaving projects from Helena Tang-Lim of Manek-Manek beads. Julie is currently working on one member of the “Jumbo Jax Box” trio, a bead weaving pumpkin box by Julia Pretl. Julie makes good use of publications, local bead stores in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and online sources like Facebook, Pinterest, and Etsy stores. But at the heart of Julie’s work, is the singular and pleasing alchemy between her creativity and found objects.
Competition is a misnomer for Julie, as she uses her efforts not necessarily to promote herself, but to bring attention to the Upper Midwest Bead Society (UMBS). Beaders in the Minneapolis area seldom have opportunities to display their work, so competitive venues, like the fair, become a resource to increase the UMBS public profile.
If there is an underlying theme to Julie’s work, it is playfulness and humor. She especially loves designing around Halloween -- always fun and not-quite-scary. Julie’s characters, as she refers to them, are driven by found objects, which are then brought together in the form of 3D sculptures using glue and bead embroidery and bead weaving techniques. Sometimes she uses modeling epoxy over a base to build the core of a prizewinning piece like Madame Eggweena (shown), or she will use a found object, like the unfinished head of Lord Duckington (shown), another prizewinner. She then applies beads and other found objects to embellish.
Like most of us, Julie did other forms of crafting before beading. She visited the Creative Activities building at the State Fair and was taken with the various forms of needle art – macrame, needlepoint and embroidery. The Edina Art Fair, with a side trip to the now-defunct Bead Monkey store, led her to a flyer from UMBS. From then on, beading became a focus of her work.
Joining UMBS provided Julie with various gatherings -- retreats and classes -- to learn about different types of beading. As Julie says, as we “age” into beading, we have the tendency to focus on a particular type of beading, such as bead embroidery or bead weaving. Participating in UMBS activities and informal beading groups enables participants to see what others are doing and to discuss ideas and materials. Exposure to different types of beading can become bridges, like Julie’s work, to combining different elements in new and interesting ways.
For some odd reason, beading, no matter what its form, provides a common means to enjoy each other. Oftentimes, Julie receives “gifts” from her many friends in the form of taxidermy eyes and the underlying form for Lord Duckington. Found objects provide most inspiration for Julie’s work, especially those in egg-shape form. Why egg forms? All the easier to attach cabochons, of course! And for those of us who have contributed to Julie’s treasures, nothing is better than seeing one of our offerings incorporated into her work.
Julie balances working on her original beaded projects with projects/patterns from other designers like Laura McCabe, like her “Shut Your Trap” venus fly trap necklace, and bead weaving projects from Helena Tang-Lim of Manek-Manek beads. Julie is currently working on one member of the “Jumbo Jax Box” trio, a bead weaving pumpkin box by Julia Pretl. Julie makes good use of publications, local bead stores in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and online sources like Facebook, Pinterest, and Etsy stores. But at the heart of Julie’s work, is the singular and pleasing alchemy between her creativity and found objects.